The present invention relates to a method for controlling a telecommunication terminal by means of voice, as presented in the preamble of the claim 1, and a voice-controlled telecommunication terminal according to the method.
When a mobile phone is used in a car, a hands-free mode is often required, wherein the car has a hands-free equipment for the mobile phone, comprising a separate loudspeaker and a microphone. Thus, the speaker can use both hands for driving during the call. The advantages of the hands-free mode are comfort in use and improved safety. To increase comfort in use, the hands-free mode is used also in offices as a desktop hands-free installation.
The convenience of hands-free mode is decreased by the fact that for making a call the driver has to dial the telephone number by pressing the keys of the phone. This impairs traffic safety, because the look of the driver is attached to the phone. To facilitate the dialing of numbers, shortcut functions have been designed to phones, wherein names and numbers of persons have been stored into the memory of the phone. The shortcut memory can be scrolled through, wherein it is advantageous to show on the display device of the phone an identifier corresponding to each telephone number, such as the name of the respective person. If needed, it is also possible to show the phone number corresponding to the identifier. The memory can be scrolled forwards and backwards, and when the desired identifier appears on the display device, the dialing the phone number can be started, for example by pressing a call key. However, the shortcut function does not entirely eliminate the need to press the keys when calling.
Various methods based on voice recognition for telecommunication terminals, such as mobile phones and wireline telephones, have been developed, particularly for dialling a phone number without pressing the keys. In such methods, the desired phone number can be dialed usually in a manner that the caller pronounces the phone number or an identifier related to the phone number, such as the name of the person. The phone number corresponding to the identifier has been stored advantageously to the shortcut memory.
Some known telecommunication terminals and methods based on voice recognition have been described in the patent publications U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,107, U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,953, U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,302, U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,765 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,121.
Prior art control and calling methods of a telecommunication terminal using voice recognition are mainly based on the fact that a distinguishing voice pattern has been stored for each command and phone number. Thus, the command or identifier has to be given in a form as identical with the stored form as possible. Thus, the caller has to remember in which form e.g. the name "Matthew Herbert Williams" was stored; was it stored exactly in this form, or in form "Matthew Williams", "Williams Matthew", or "Williams Matthew Herbert".
U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,121 discloses a voice-recognition dialing device arranged in connection with a telephone mounted on a vehicle or the like. Into the memory of the dialing device, voice patterns corresponding to the commands and telephone numbers, such as words "RECALL MEMORY", "SEND" and "VERIFY", are stored. Voice patterns are preferably stored already when the dialing device is manufactured. The dialing unit can also be implemented in a manner that the user teaches the unit also the commands and numbers. The dialing device includes a loudspeaker and/or a display device, wherein the user is given instructions in form of voice signals and/or text. The call is initiated by pronouncing the command "RECALL MEMORY", wherein the dialing device requests the user to pronounce the identifier of the desired telephone number. After the identifier has been pronounced, the device compares the identifiers stored into the memory and after finding an identifier that most resembles the pronounced identifier, it gives a voice signal. The user may then give the device a call command "SEND", or a command "VERIFY" if the user wishes to check that the number is correct. In this case, the dialing device informs the chosen identifier, for example in a sound signal. If the chosen identifier is correct, a connection is created by using a call command. If the chosen identifier is incorrect, the user can scroll through the other alternatives by using a command "NEXT ONE". However, the identifiers have to be given in the same form as they have been stored, which increases the possibility of false choices.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,302 presents another dialing device for calling a desired telephone number by using voice commands. In this device, the telephone numbers can be classified for example according to the initial part of the name. The search can thus be implemented by pronouncing for example the surname "Williams", wherein the device searches all the names having "Will" in their initial part, such as "Williams", "Williamson" and "Willis". In the next phase the desired name can be chosen from the list formed by the device, which is thus in this phase briefer than the list of all the names stored in the memory. Even this device has the disadvantage that the user has to remember the form the name was stored, that is, "Williams Matthew", "Matthew Williams", "Williams Matthew Herbert" or "Matthew Herbert Williams",